Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was born in 1525 in Palestrina. An Italian composer of the late Renaissance, Palestrina took his name from the town near Rome where he was born. He spent most of his career in Rome, serving as choirmaster at St Peter's Basilica and at other major churches. He wrote more than a hundred masses, as well as motets and other sacred works, in a clear, smooth polyphonic style that became a model for later teachers of counterpoint. A popular legend says that his Pope Marcellus Mass persuaded the Council of Trent not to ban polyphonic music in church, though historians doubt the story. His music is considered the ideal of Catholic church music of the Counter-Reformation.
Before and after
- from 27 August 1522 to 6 May 1523Knights' War
- 6 September 1522Magellan's expedition completes the first circumnavigation
- from 1524 to 1525German Peasants' War
- 24 December 1524Death of Vasco da Gama
- 1525Birth of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
- from 1525 to 1947Prussia
- 1525Birth of Pieter Brueghel the Elder
- from 1526 to 1857Mughal Empire
- from 1526 to 1568Habsburg–Ottoman wars in Hungary
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This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.